Ignite Your Fire for Christ

“What I miss most about ILHS are the daily chapels and religion classes.” Does that sound familiar? I think it’s the most common answer for ILHS graduates to give when they’re asked about their time on Grover Road. For the first few years after I graduated, I did not share that sentiment. Not because I disliked chapels or religion classes, I just didn’t miss them like my former classmates did. Because of this lack of emotion, I thought maybe I wasn’t as dedicated to the growth of my faith as my peers. But throughout college and into the present day, I’ve known I’ve been missing something. I think that “something” is daily immersion in the Word.

Think of all the things you immerse yourself in on a daily basis. For me, it’s pointless things like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and slightly more important things like eating, napping, and going to work. For those of you who are in high school or college, I’m sure you immerse yourself in your studies and extracurricular activities. In one of my college classes, the professor made us keep a journal of things that ignited our “fire for learning.” At the time, I was very passionate about learning how to become a rockstar nurse, so I had a constant fire for learning (at least until senioritis kicked in). It was easy for me to devote time and effort to those studies. Why is it that it’s so much harder to have a fire for Christ?

If we devoted as much time and energy to Christ as we did to our jobs, classes, and hobbies, imagine how much our fires could grow.

In Revelation 3:15-16, John tells us that we should not be lukewarm when it comes to our faith, but hot. Those daily chapels and religion classes were the kindling that helped ignite our fires for Christ. Some students made the most of those resources, while others, myself included, didn’t appreciate them for what they were worth. I can’t go back in time and change my high school attitude, but I can tend to my current fire for Christ. King David tells us to “meditate on His law day and night” (Psalm 1:2). Getting better acquainted with the Word is how we reveal God’s righteousness and the promise of everlasting life. Romans 1:17- “For in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” That righteousness is the righteous works of Christ given and credited to us by faith. They are given and promised to us in the Word!

We each need to find the kindling that will help in this daily immersion. The resource that works for someone else might not be the most beneficial for you – find your personal kindling! For some it might be a devotional book or 365 day Bible, others might take 10 minutes in the morning to meditate and pray, while others might organize a group Bible study that encourages fellowship with other Christians. If we devoted as much time and energy to Christ as we did to our jobs, classes, and hobbies, imagine how much our fires could grow.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

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